Carhenge
On the way back to Texas from our Mount Rushmore Road Trip, we heard of Carhenge, and with my husband being a huge car lover, made the slight detour over to Alliance to take a break and have a look!
And I heard about Carhenge in the strangest of places, the ladies restroom in a grocery store while we stopped to grab some snacks for the 17 hour drive home. With 4 drivers in the car, we felt we could drive straight home arriving just hours before my daughter had to catch a flight to spend the rest of the summer as an intern at LEWA Wildlife Center in Kenya.
I love this welcome sign with the corn in the background! Admission to Carhenge is FREE, open daily during daylight hours.
The Pitstop has souvenirs, restrooms and a grill. Call ahead for hours as they vary.
I felt like what this sign was really saying to us is “I know those crazy Texans think it’s OK to write all over their buried cars, but here is Nebraska we don’t. Don’t even think about it.”. Of course, I’m referring to Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, where visitors stand in line, armed with paint cans to leave a very temporary tag on one of several Cadillacs standing upright in the dirt. Click HERE to read more about it.
Cadillac Ranch was created in 1974 as an art installation by Ant Farm.
Built to resemble Stonehenge, Carhenge was created by Jim Reinders in 1987. Reinders says both Stonehenge and Cadillac Ranch were inspirations for Carhenge, which he dedicated as a memorial to his father.
Stonehenge, which is about 2.5 hours outside of London, is a bit older. To compare the sites, click HERE.
All of the cars at Carhenge are older, American built cars, painted gray.
If you plan ahead, you can bring a picnic lunch.
Alliance, Nebraska was in the Path of Totality during the 2017 Solar Eclipse, and Carhenge was a huge gathering spot for people to come and watch, and take some fun pictures in the process. Even Carhenge creator Reinders, now 89, came up from his home in Pearland to watch the Eclipse. Click HERE to see some fun pictures of Carhenge during the Eclipse.
Carhenge is only 3 hours south of the Black Hills in South Dakota, and 4 hours northeast of Denver. It’s also the westernmost point to pick up the Nebraska Sandhills Scenic Byway. Click HERE to learn about more to do in the area.
Just a few more of some of my favorite pictures from there.
Including restroom stop, gift shop and exploring, we probably stayed about an hour.
There are other unique sculptures to see at Carhenge as well, all made from old car parts.
These are just a few of my favorites.
The remains of a covered wagon.
A buried Time Capsule.
Goodbye Nebraska.
Our Summer Roadtrip included stays in Buena Vista Colorado, where we rafted the Brown River, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. We saw Mount Rushmore, panned for gold in the wild creeks, visited Crazy Horse and Sturgis and so much more!
Carhenge
2151 Co Rd 59, Alliance, NE
Click HERE to visit their website.
Keep Having Fun in the Texas Sun!
Michelle
Having Fun in the TEXAS Sun is on PINTEREST! Use it as a quick resource to find activities in different Texas towns! Click HERE!
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